Hello,

My eight year old cat, Willy, was recently diagnosed with Kidney Renal Failure..KIDNEY RENAL FAILURE He is right on the border. I would like to know what is the difference between Perscription products for Kidneys and the other products.. For example, Low Phosphorus, reduced portein, added potassium and reduced sodium is all I've been told. He doesn't like the wet perscription food, So I have been giving him IAM's 3oz cans. They have no phos, etc. Is that all right.. He is doing fine. Yes, he is drinking extra water and urinating the same as when he was diagnosed. Any info would help me better undertand what I am dealing with. Thank you in advance, Sharon, [email protected]

Hello Sharon,

I'm sorry to hear about your cat's problem. Unfortunately, by the time Renal Failure is diagnosed about 60 to 75% of their kidney function is already destroyed.

Since we can't reverse this damage, we must slow it down.

I highly recommend Hill's Science Diet K/D which is a specifically designed kidney diet. It comes in several flavors of canned and a dry formula. Another good kidney diet is Purina Veterinary Diets NF which also comes in canned and dry.

Most veterinary clinic's either stock these foods or can order them for you.

One standard practice at our clinic is to put kidney patients on Lotensin. Depending on your cat's weight, the ideal dose is usually about 1/4 tablet once daily by mouth.

Lotensin helps block the effects of aging on the internal organs and so is great for almost all types of age-related organ decline.

You might want to ask your vet about Lotensin.

I hope your cat likes one of the above mentioned foods. They really are the best. If not, eating anything is better than nothing. Try to get low- or modified-protein foods if you can. Protein makes the kidneys work harder and we don't want that in a cat with Renal Failure.

Hope this information helps!

Regards,

We had a diabetic cat that eventually began to urinate everywhere. The doctor diagnosed him with renal failure, put him on a Science Diet K/D and prescribed subcutaneous fluids daily. She said he had a life expectancy of a few months. Although giving him the fluids was troubling at first, he eventually got used to it. He was a very happy cat for almost a year after his diagnosis. Not everyone is willing to go this far, but I wanted to let you know that renal failure can be treated and we were able to give him a good quality of life for his last year.